Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1740277147

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-132094

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stationery Office

Year of publication:: 1926

Scope:: XII, 394 S.

Digitisation:: 2020

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XIII. Miscellaneous questions

Collection:: Economics Books

MAJORITY REPORT. QF 7121). The National Association of Trade Union Approved Societies, having in view a closer co-ordination of Public Health and Medical Services, suggested that boys and girls should become compulsorily insured immediately upon taking up employment after leaving school. (App. XCII, 52-54; Q. 21,854.) The British Dental Association also call attention to the importance of continuous arrangements for dental treatment, and state that if such treatment were afforded as a statutory benefit for all insured persons, it would be most unfortunate that there should be an interval of about two years between leaving school and attaining the age of 16 during which the boy or girl would be left without any provision for obtaining dental treatment. (Q. 9227.) 455. On the other hand we are informed by Sir Walter Kinnear (Q. 37) that there is no real demand for the insurance of employed persons under the age of 16, and we have had no evidence that employers give any preference in employment to boys and girls under that age on the ground that insurance con- tributions are not payable in respect of them. The witnesses from ihe National Conferencet of Friendly Societies (App. XXVI, 10), the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows (Q. 5823-5824), and the Rational Association Friendly Society (Q. 6563-6564) were all of opinion that a lowering of the age limit was not desirable. 456. We do not consider that the arguments in favour of a lowering of the age limit for insurance are many or of great weight. The question of reducing the age limit in the case of Unemployment Insurance was recently considered by Parliament, and it was decided that the present limit of 16, as in the case of Health Insurance, should be retained. The determining factor in arriving at this decision was the trend of educational policy in this country which is in the direction of treating the period between 14 and 16 as one for which educational rather than industrial provision should be made. In so far as the normal school leaving age extends beyond 14, the gap in the provision of medical and dental supervision will become less, and in any case we do not consider that serious consequences need be feared as a result of this short interval if good habits have been inculeated as the result of the School Medical and Dental Services. 457. There are, moreover, serious practical objections to any lowering of the age limit for insurance. Such a change would either involve a special reduced scale of contributions and benefits at the ages of 14 to 16, causing considerable administrative diffi- culties, or it would necessitate the reconsideration of the financial structure of the Scheme. 458. As to the higher age limit of insurability, the position has been materially affected by the passing of the Widows’, Orphans’

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